Marin Voice: Ruling Democrats are ruining California

HEADLINE: California ushers in new era with Democrat super majority in Legislature.

How much of a stunner is this really? While it gives the Democrat-controlled Legislature almost unfettered power to enact all manner of laws that affect the average guy, "both chambers of the California Legislature have been dominated by the Democratic Party since 1959 except in 1969 to 1971 when the Republican Party held both chambers and from 1994 to 1996, when they briefly held a majority in the Assembly." (http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_State_Legislature)

The real headline should read: The mess in California is NOT the fault of Republicans.

California was once the darling of the country — the world's fifth largest economy, a magnet for business and innovation, an education system that was the envy of the world. In the past few decades, California has been in steady decline and now ranks among the lowest in education and business climate, its economy has slipped to ninth largest, housing values are prohibitively high, food and oil are among the costliest and excessive taxes and regulations force businesses to seek greener pastures elsewhere at an exodus rate of five per week.

(But the Golden State's weather and scenery are unrivaled!)

What the California dude on the street hasn't realized is that the Democrats he votes for are the very same Democrats who are giving him the shaft.

Here's how. Proposition 30 has been positioned as the last savior for education by imposing higher sales taxes on Californians and a heavier tax burden on higher incomes-supposedly the richest among us, but it really hits small business and some in the middle class hard. As sales taxes creep even higher, consumption will continue to plummet and negatively impact tax revenues. This will not cure education's budgetary ills.

Unlike states with high sales taxes that do not have an income tax — like Washington — California hits citizens with the double whammy — high sales and income taxes. This hurts the little guy, the one the Democrats are supposedly looking out for.

We are over-taxed on virtually everything we do, buy, eat or sell and yet, California is broke. Although it was great to have a whipping boy during the election, it just can't be the fault of the "rich" failing to pay their fair share.

Couldn't our tax revenue problem be the result of profligate spending in our Democrat-controlled Legislature? Couldn't it be that Democrat policies and legislation have pushed away the state's main source of tax revenue by driving off business? Couldn't it be that Democrat policies actually hurt the little guy (and the schools)?

Proposition 30 will supposedly cure our education ills but how many bills, bond measures, propositions and annual funds targeting education have we been asked to support over the years? How much longer must we allocate money to an education system that isn't working until we realize this is insanity? When will Californians understand that Democrat-sponsored taxes, fees and penalties create disincentives to work, produce and live in California and cause tax revenues to dwindle?

California will continue to falter as the Democrats continue to squeeze as much money from the little guy to fund its spending addiction. Eventually, only the wealthiest and the most indigent will remain. California will look and function like a third world country — not the envy of the world. And no amount of good weather or beautiful scenery will attract enough of the hard-working, middle class to stay. And one thing will be certain — it will rest on the shoulders of the Democrats.

Sally Zelikovsky of San Rafael, a leader in the local Tea Party movement, was a delegate at the Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay, Fla.